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A. J. REYNOLDS. W Maltand Hop Drier.

No. 229,639. Patented July 6,1880.

NJEIERS. PHDTO-LITHPGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D G

- cordance with my improvements.

UNIT D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW J. REYNOLDS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH OF HIS RIGHT TO JOHN NEWTON SEARS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

MALT AND HOP DRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,639, dated July 6, 1880.

Application filed December 12, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREWJACKSON REY- NOLDS, of the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Malt and Hop Driers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved machine, showing the trays drawn out on opposite sides of the casing and illustrating the manner in which they can be conveniently manipulated. Fig.2isa side view, showing a convenient manner of discharging or unloading the trays, which are constructed in ac- Fig. 3 is a cross-section of one of the improved trays. Fig. 4 is a section and elevation, shpwing a modified arrangement of the improved drier.

Like letters of reference wherever they oc- UL r indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

lily invention has special reference to machines intended for drying malt and hops and materials of a similar nature; but the improvements are applicable to many other classes of driers, as will appear from the following explanations of their principles of operation.

The object of my invention is to produce a simple, cheap, and easily-operating machine, which will accommodate a considerable quantity of material, and which will accomplish the desired drying quickly and thoroughly, consuming a minimum quantity of coal or other fuel.

To accomplish all of this the invention consists in certain new and useful combinations or arrangements of parts, as well as certain peculiar details of construction, all of which will be hereinafter first fully described, and then point. .1 out in the claims.

The furnaces B B are preferably arranged in pairs, though any desired number may be employed. They are intended to supply the current of heated air which is to pass through the material upon the trays, and for this purpose they may be of any approved pattern, either discharging the products of combustion directly into the drying-chambers or having airconducting flues connected therewith in the well-known ways.

My improvements are well calculated for the employment of the former styles, and these are preferred because of the greater amount of ca- 5 5 lor'ic in the blast, the more economical use of fuel, and the much more rapid drying of the material, which is an important feature to be considered in the curing of hops and malt or the like.

The trays C are mounted in frames A, which latter make the walls of the drying-chamber, and these frames are movable up and down between suitable uprights G G, being supported upon a bottom frame, H, connected with a Windlass, I, through suitably-arranged hoisting-chains K K. By means of this Windlass and connections the trays may be instantly elevated should the fire be too strong, and thus the degree of heat to be applied kept under control of the operator.

The frames A, for the reception of the trays, are provided with rollers, to facilitate the movement of the trays through them from end to end. At one end the lower roller, (1., has a 7 band-wheel, I), applied, and this is bolted to a similar wheel above, which controls a revolving brush-shaft, c. As the trays are moved back and forth the brush is kept revolving, and thus is made to stir up the material in the tray, keeping a new surface exposed to the action of the heated air-currents, and compelling a thorough and complete exposure of the material. Forligh ter materials, such as hops, the brush might well be made of quills, as atfordin g a clean and sufficiently elastic substance but bristles, wire, and other materials might be employed.

When arranged in pairs, substantially as indicated in the drawings, the furnaces or heaters B B afford two direct upward currents of air, or air and gases, which are highly heated, and between these two currents is a space considerably less heated. I take advantage of this circumstance in a provision for exposing 5 the material for only a short time in the hottest parts.

The trays are made in three, four, or more sections, hinged end to end, as plainly indicated, and each section being about the length of the hottest column enables me to expose its contents in the desired manner. The articulated trays are pushed through the machine from end to end, each time about thelength of one of the sections. This nmst, as will appear from the construction indicated, bring the parts which were before the movement over the hottest parts into a cooler strata or current of air, either between the hot currcn ts or outside of the machine, and by this means I am enabled to regulate the application of the heat, so as to produce the exact amount of drying required. By the vertical and horizontal movements combined a degree of regulation is attained in this machine which is impossible in others as usually constructed, and this is of considerable importance, especially in the drying of hops, which require great care to avoid burning or under-drying.

The bottom of the trays is preferably made of perforated tinned iron corrugated in the direction of the length of the trays. The corrugations insure a more perfect contact of the heated air with the material being dried, and, beingmade to run in the direction ofthe length of the trays, facilitates tie stirring up by the brushes and enables the trays to be emptied of their contents without difliculty.

The trays are preferably made without end pieces, save on those which are at the extremity of the system, and they may be conveniently discharged into any chute or hopper, as at T, by running them out on rollers arranged in a suitable frame-work, as seen in Fig. 2.

To lengthen the system of trays it might be found desirable to provide suitable supports for them outside of the drier. This can easily be done, and the number of sections can be increased at pleasure.

The number of frames for the trays may be increased at pleasure, so by increasing the lengths of the trays and the number of trays in the tier the machine may be made to accommodate as much or as little material as may be desired.

The uprights G may be framed together at. the top in any suitable manner, so as to insure the requisite firmness of the structure.

The arrangement of the hoisting-chains may be variously modified-as, for instance, they may be passed through pulleys upon two or more interior posts, as (l (i, Fig. 4, passing thence down to their union with thehoisting-frame H.

The heating-space may be divided by suitable partitions, (shown at 0 0, Fig. 4,) in which case the partitions should be perforated to admit of the movement of the trays through the different chambers, the partitions operating to inclosc difl'erent air-spaces and as supports for the rollers upon which the trays are moved.

When constructed and arranged substantially in accordance with the foregoing explanations, the improved drier is found to afi'ord excellentpractical results. The amount of exposure required to produce the requisite drying is easily udged of by the operator, who has a full view of the dried material at each movement of the trays, and generally all the purposes and objects of the invention, as previously stated, are admirably fulfilled.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a drying machine of the character herein specified, the combination of the furnaces orheaters, the vertically-adjustable trayframes, and sliding trays mounted in said trayframes and adapted to be extended from either end of the machine, substantially as set forth.

2. In a drier of the character herein specified, the combination of the furnaces or heaters, arranged in pairs, the vertically-adjustable tray-frames, and the sectional trays, hinged, substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

3. The herein-described trays, composed of a number of sections hinged together and adapted to be discharged, in the manner set forth.

4. The herein-described trays, composed of a number of sections hinged together and havin g corrugated bottoms of perforated material, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination of the trays composed of sections hinged together, the tray-frames, and the rollers which cause the movement of the revolving brushes, all operating substantially in the manner shown and described.

6. The combination of the furnaces or heaters, the tray-frames, the elevating contrivance, the sectional hinged trays movable through the frames, and the revolving brushes, all united and arranged to operate substantiallyin the manner shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW JACKSON REYNOLDS.

Witnesses H. J. SIMONETT, GODFREY \VHEELER. 

